For the second weekend in a row, Alabama baseball suffered a disappointing series loss to a team below it in the SEC standings. By dropping two of the three to Mississippi State, the Crimson Tide fell to 29-8 overall and 8-7 in league play.
Just like in last weekend's series loss to Auburn, Alabama dug itself in a hole with a run-rule loss on Friday. The Bulldogs dominated on Friday, rolling past the Crimson Tide 13-3 due to, once again, lackluster pitching.
Zane Adams got rocked, giving up nine hits and seven earned runs in four innings. JT Blackwood wasn't much better in relief, giving up three earned runs and managing just a single out. Mississippi State jumped on Alabama early with three runs in the first and put the game away with a seven-run fifth inning.
In game two of the series, Riley Quick gave the Crimson Tide the starting outing it needed. He threw 5.1 innings, gave up six hits, one earned run, and struck out a career high seven as Alabama won 4-1.
Leadoff man Richie Bonomolo Jr. did the bulk of the offensive damage. He put Alabama ahead in the 2nd inning with a two-RBI double. He added some insurance in the 7th inning with a sacrifice fly. Jason Torres added an extra run with an RBI single to help the Tide to the 4-1 win.
On Sunday, Rob Vaugn gave the ball to Tyler Fay instead of normal Sunday starter Bobby Alcock. Fay was pulled in the 4th inning after just 50 pitches, giving up a pair of earned runs. It was the offense that failed Alabama on Sunday. The Tide managed just two hits in the 4-2 loss, with both runs coming on sacrifice flies by Bonomolo Jr. and Kade Snell.
Alabama doesn't have the starting pitching to be a real threat in the SEC
While the offense let Alabama down in Sunday's loss to Mississippi State, the theme in Alabama being a .500 team in the SEC this season has been their struggles with starting pitching.
Last weekend against Auburn, the Tide managed just 5.1 innings across three games from their starters, with four of those coming from Quick. Adams has struggled in back-to-back starts, leading to non-competitive losses to open the weekend.
Alabama is now tied for 8th in the SEC standings, and following a mid-week home game against UAB, the Tide will travel to Baton Rouge to take on one of the best teams in the country, LSU.
Alabama will need good outings from its starting pitchers to have a realistic shot at getting even one win in this series. A series win in Baton Rouge, however improbable, would make up for the disappointment from this weekend.